Rainwater Harvesting for Yurts

[Knecht]

Khana (chana) is a Mongolian term. It's the wall lattice and if I understand it right, they have some "standard" length of it and they recognize the yurt size by the number of these connected khanas that form the wall.
Hope my thread will give you some help. Also, read carefully what Bob says, it's usually worth it.

Tying the laths together with inner tube rubber...I would be a bit worried it might be too loose, as the rubber is not rigid enough. But it may work...and I guess it does, as your friend is using that.

[Bob Rowlands]

Knecht, thanks for the vote of confidence.

snow- the laths in my 16' yurt are ripped from 2x4s. They are 5/16ths thick. The through bolts are 1/4-20 x 1.25. That required drilling 1/4" holes. IME 1/4" dia. is a maximum hole size for such wimpy little rips. They will break if there is a knot adjacent to the hole.

Good as bolts are, they aren't traditional. If that is an issue, using cordage or rawhide for ties would be a good choice. Guessing here, but you might be able to drill a 3/16ths hole instead of 1/4". Cordage won't rattle in the wind like washers. Also, with cordage, no matter how tight you get the knots to the laths, you'll be able to expand and contact the khana with ease, and that my friend is a very big deal when you set up the yurt yourself. It really isn't fun hearing a lath crack after you spent HOURS assembling the wall. So, overall, the Mongolian have nomadic yurt details entirely perfected.

I found all the detail stuff that I was initially edgy about got answered when I built my two yurts. I've learned, with a smaller nomadic yurt you don't absolutely have to have a

tension cable

, a rope or cloth band will work. You don't have to have bolts, cordage is fine. You don't have to have a rafter on every cross, every other cross is fine. A wall of several sections tied together is fine. Etc. All this stuff is learned when you build and erect the yurt, and have lived in it awhile.

Also, snow, there are photos of my yurt on this site under my name and home made yurt. It is also on google images under clan kaminari yurt. The yurt is the one with two green rafters either side of the green five panel door. There are paint blotches on the wall cover since I used drop cloths. There are detail shots too of the interior. Good luck.